Claudius in Hamlet
“Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are, and those few dare not oppose themselves to the opinion of the many, who have the majesty of the state to defend them.” - Nicolo Machiavelli, from The Prince Italian political theorist Nicolo Machiavelli speculated that the strongest leaders are ones who are able to carefully balance appearances to his benefit, strategically using them to strengthen his regime. If Machiavelli was indeed correct, then Claudius, from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, starts off as an ideal Machiavellian prince. However, as the play develops, Claudius’ loses his previously immovable command and composure, largely due to his concern over the potential threat posed by his stepson, Hamlet. At the beginning of the play, Claudius appears to have complete control over Elsinore, as evidenced by his imposing speech to the court: Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen, Th’ imperial jointress to this warlike state, Have we (as ‘twere with a defeated joy, With an auspicious and a dropping eye, With mirth in funeral and dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole) Taken to wife... [1.2: 8-14] In this scene, Claudius, who has only recently taken the throne after the death of his brother, addresses some pressing issues. Seeking to create a strong early impression, Claudius uses his words very carefully, taking great pains to both mourn his late brother and celebrate his marriage. Furthermore, with the words “imperial jointress to this warlike state” he justifies the potentially controversial union by making it appear like a benefit to the entire kingdom. Claudius is clearly a shrewd politician, for he deliberately emphasizes the contrast between his marriage and...
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...with the sharpness of an experienced leader and decisively acting on every issue of importance. Therefore, the actor must have an imposing and confident presence on stage, for Claudius dominates Elsinore and is in full control of Denmark. However, by the third act, the King must be depicted as a man who is growing increasingly fearful of Hamlet, and during the play, Claudius is so startled that he must appear as though he has seen the ghost of Old Hamlet. But in my opinion, Claudius’ defining moment comes during his lengthy soliloquy in which he acknowledges his guilt. As he mourns his condemned soul, he should seem so helpless that the audience views him with intense pity, for the character of Claudius, like Macbeth, is not intended to represent evil but instead to show the universal ability of power to corrupt and to destroy lives in the process.
An Exploration of the Ways Shakespeare Presents the Character Claudius From Claudius’s first speech the audience gains the impression the character is political and educated. Shakespeare uses metaphorical language to emphasis this. Claudius’s first speech in the script is full of metaphorical language, and it shows a manipulating, persuasive character who can convince a kingdom that it was perfectly acceptable for him to marry his brother’s wife just a few weeks after his death. It is the language Shakespeare has chosen to give Claudius that can convince others that he is morally correct. He uses imagery of facial features to represent the kingdom as one body.
Claudius is responsible for the death of King Hamlet, regardless of this, he wants to portray himself as someone that is worthy of running the nation of Denmark. Claudius connects to the people of Denmark by demonstrating that they are all participating in the grieving of King Hamlet, “Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief” (I.ii.1-3). King Hamlet’s death is very recent, but Claudius places himself as someone that is part of the kingdom that will be mourning the death of King Hamlet. This is demonstrated through irony since instead of mourning he is actually enjoying what King Hamlet has left behind; the nation of Denmark and his wife, Gertrude. Through this, Claudius also demonstrates that he wants others to believe that he has not done anything wrong. In order to convey the image of being healthy, Claudius and his court drink merrily within the castle; making the excesses that the court enjoys apparent. Hamlet is not fond of the drinking but then comes to the conclusion that “His virtues else, be they as pure as grace, As infinite as man may undergo, Shall in the general censure take corruption” (I.iv.33-35). Hamlet then foreshadows his own destiny. No matter how good a person may be, that person can become corrupt due to something that has ...
An interesting comparison between King Hamlet and Claudius is a biblical reference between Cain and Abel. Cain was the first person to be born and Abel was the first person to be killed. Cain was jealous of his brother who was younger yet he became a shepherd while he was a farmer. Whenever they would give offerings to god, Abel’s offering would be accepted while Cain’s offering wasn’t. Cain was jealous of his brother and angered that he was allowed such a better life than him. Besides being a shepherd, Abel’s wife which was decided for him was much more beautiful than Cain’s wife. On one fateful day. Cain invites Abel to the fields and then there Cain murders his brother. This biblical story is commonly associated with Hamlet. One brother takes the life of the other brother because they think that they are more deserving than the other brother. In both cases, the murderous brother is left to walk to their doom in the future and in a sense gets justice inflicted upon them.
Claudius’s chief concerns about Hamlet are that his life would have been in danger; his safety. Claudius is concerned that Hamlet would have killed him instead of Polonius, if he was there at that time. He was scared when he heard the news of Hamlet killing Polonius thinking it was him behind the tapestry. With relief and fear, Claudius tells Gertrude, “O heavy deed! It had been so with us, had we been there” (4.1.13-14). Claudius is relieved that he was not murdered by Hamlet. This contributed to character development because this shows us that Hamlet is ready to take revenge, since in the beginning he was confused and afraid, but now has taken the steps to take revenge. Character development can be seen in Claudius too because now we know that Claudius is afraid of the consequences, he will be receiving for the crime he has done.
As said in the The Imagery in "Hamlet": Acting : Claudius masks his real self with a false face of kindness is a commonplace of Hamlet criticism (¨My cousin Hamlet and my son," "think of us as of a father¨).Macbeth and Claudius shows courage to follow their desires. They outshine the others due to their personal characteristics for instance strength,commitment and the ability to hide their true
... of treachery and, luckily, Hamlet realizes the king’s subterfuge, crushing the plot and flipping it back on him. Claudius remains steadfast in his efforts to remove Hamlet, going so far as to set up a false fencing competition and foolishly pushing the poisoned wine without considering the suspiciousness of the action. In his short-sighted and rash decision making, Claudius shows that he allows his inflated sense of regality and self-worth to cloud his judgment.
Claudius, the antagonist in the William Shakespeare play Hamlet, is an intricate character who used deception throughout the entire play to gain his desires. Thus a snake was used to represent him because a serpent represents evil in the bible and Shakespeare used many biblical references so a serpent was the prime choice to symbolize Claudius. The serpent indicates that Claudius is an evil man who is only motivated by his selfish desires and the green coloring of the snake was used to represent the envy that filled Claudius. A snake was also used because he was referred to as “a serpent” who killed his brother (Act I, Scene iv, Line 36). The crown on top of the snake’s head is referring to the crown of Denmark, which Claudius possessed after
Claudius is seen in Hamlets eyes as a horrible person because he convicted murder and incest. Claudius had killed the king of Denmark, Old Hamlet, to obtain the position of the throne. He had been jealous of Old Hamlet’s wife Gertrude and wanted to marry her for her power. Although, such an act would be called incest and considered unnatural he did not care, all he had cared about was the power that he would be stealing from Hamlet and Old Hamlet, Gertrude’s son and husband (R). When Hamlet had talked to his f...
... the only way to honour his father Polonius is by killing Hamlet. In addition, as Claudius reads the letter from Hamlet to Laertes he says “'Tis Hamlet’s character. “Naked” And in a postscript here, he says “alone.” Can you advise me?” (IV, VII, 52-53). This shows that Claudius takes advantage of Hamlet’s return alone as an opportunity for Laertes to kill him. Through Claudius’s actions the readers observe how he deceives Laertes into killing Hamlet for his own benefit without getting blood on his hands. Furthermore, Claudius’ desperation to kill Hamlet leads to him losing sight of what is important, which is being the king of Denmark, what he originally wanted, instead the lies he told and the manipulation he spread is now taking over. To conclude, it is evident through the play that the words and actions of Claudius have only lead to the spread of deception.
Claudius’ first speech effectively reveals his character to the audience. Shakespeare’s use of diction and doubling suggests Claudius’ façade conceals his true intentions. Claudius’ artful yet manipulative use of language and his diplomatic foreign policy, prove him to be a commanding politician. This speech sets the stage for the rising action of the play. It plays a major role in revealing plot elements key to an understanding of the play and enables the audience to make an impression of Claudius and decide for themselves his possible role in King Hamlet’s death.
Nature versus nurture is a common sociological theory that has the ability to be used on anyone. Nature means the way someone was born or their genes, and nurture is someone’s environment. People argue which affects a person more. In William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, there have been numerous arguments saying that his uncle Claudius is actually his father due to their similarities. With the argument of nature versus nurture one can argue that they act so much alike because Hamlet’s environment growing up was being around Claudius. By looking at both Hamlet and Claudius’; inaction/action, plots to murder one another, their diction, their relationships with Gertrude, the way they treat women and their advisors, it proves that Claudius is not Hamlet’s father.
Furthermore, it is possible to propose that Shakespeare merely uses this scene to provoke irritation and consequently suspense from the audience. If Hamlet wasn’t given this opportunity to kill Claudius we would have not this insight into Hamlet’s indecisiveness, possible cowardice and inability to kill Claudius in cold blood. It is probable to suggest that through this soliloquy we are shown that Hamlet’s initial passion for revenge after the Ghost’s visitation has faded as the play progresses to merely thinking about killing Claudius.
King Claudius, as illustrated in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, displays both charm and eloquence. Claudius is an intelligent person and is able to deceive people into believing he is innocent and morally guided. He is adept at manipulating people in order to advance and maintain his own power and fails to show any remorse for his actions. Claudius utilizes his linguistic skills to portray himself as an innocent and prudent leader; however, upon further inspection his diction is a mere smoke screen that hides his manipulative and cunning nature.
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
Although he has committed several grave crimes, not least of which is the murder of his own brother, it must also be remembered that Claudius is a competent statesman and an accepted King. "The people of Denmark are not in rebellion against him, nor is the court" (Freeman 73). Indeed the court has "freely gone with this affair along" and supported both his accession and his marriage to Gertrude. He also averts an invasion by Young Fortinbras by clever statesmanship and diplomatic intervention through Fortinbras's uncle, the King of Norway and we also see that he is skilled in manipulating his courtiers, amongst whom the only dissenting voice is that of Hamlet. His love for the Queen, also, is deep and all-consuming. Hamlet's condemnation of it as "incest" is not, it seems, the general opinion of the court and Claudius himself confesses to Laertes that